Israeli forces kill dozens of Palestinians in Gaza 'massacre'

Highest Palestinian death toll in a day since rallies dubbed the Great March of Return began at the fence with Israel.

Mon May 14 2018 16:10:41 GMT+0000

A wounded Palestinian demonstrator is evacuated during a protest against the US embassy's move to Jerusalem ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Dozens of Palestinians were killed in Gaza and more than 2,000 wounded as the Israeli army fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters assembled along the fence with Israel on Monday.

It was the highest Palestinian death toll in a single day since a series of demonstrations dubbed the Great March of Return began on March 30 - and since the 2014 Gaza war.

Of the hundreds of wounded, the Ministry of Health said at least 74 were children, 23 were women, and eight were journalists.

"On this day, the Israeli massacre continues against our people," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on television from Ramallah.

Hundreds of protesters ventured to within several hundred metres of the barrier, while others moved even closer, rolling burning tyres and hurling stones. Israeli security forces fired volleys of tear gas and intense rounds of gunfire.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 86 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded more than 9,400.

Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip attempted to cross the highly fortified fence separating the enclave from Israel as part of the Great March of Return movement. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Palestinian demonstrators run for cover in the southern Gaza Strip. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

The demonstrations are part of a weeks-long protest calling for the right of return for Palestinian refugees to the areas they were forcibly expelled from in 1948. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

A wounded Palestinian boy is evacuated during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Palestinian demonstrators gather at the Israel-Gaza border east of Gaza City on Monday. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

The protest comes ahead of annual commemorations of the Nakba, or 'catastrophe', when the state of Israel was established on May 15, 1948. The event led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their villages and towns. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Relatives of a Palestinian killed during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border gather at a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded youth during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, east of Khan Younis. [Adel Hana/AP]